The Red Spiral: Renewed
by TheStrongestChosenOne
Summary: Naruto begins his ninja career by attending Konoha's Ninja Academy, and eventually befriends Hinata. He must work hard to prove himself after he graduates with average grades. Naruto wants to show the world that he is better than average. It may even lead to a couple of powerful ninja wanting to train him for different reasons. He wonders why the second one offered because they...
1. Chapter 1

The fresh layer of snow on the ground crunched as a young boy ran through it. It did not matter if he disturbed it or not, as students would trample it the next day anyway. The red-haired boy had soon noticed a few sets of tracks in the snow, which entered the small cluster of trees nearby. As he walked over to where the footprints lead to, the shouting grew louder.

"C'mon, apologize! You stuck up, noble!" The redhead's eyes widened as he saw a dark-haired girl on her hands and knees surrounded by three boys that looked a year or two older than her. A spark of disgust created a wave of burning anger as he heard them force the girl to apologize over and over again.

"I'm Naruto Uzumaki, the future Hokage!" he said, "And I won't let you continue being jerks in this village!" The three boys turned to face Naruto before they had begun laughing in what felt like a mocking way.

"You, Hokage? Don't make me laugh," the boy with a cap said. Without warning, he had pulled back his fist and struck a whiskered cheek. Naruto fell onto the ground and had soon felt the cold snow seeped into his thin clothing.

"Ha! That shows hi-" A swift tackle cut the caped boy off, which sent him to the ground where he sent Naruto.

Naruto stumbled to his feet once more before the other two boys, who remained idle until now, grabbed his arms. They had slammed him back onto the ground and kept his limbs in place. Cap-Boy picked himself off the ground before he had brushed off his pants. He slowly walked towards Naruto, and his friends, before he loomed over him like a giant. The shadows on his face seemed to make his wicked smile turn demonic.

"I'll show you what happens when you pick a fight against me!" Cap-Boy said. He demonstrated by punching his left palm with the typical expression of adults when Naruto was nearby. Cap-Boy threw everything he had into every punch, which bruised Naruto almost instantly. A few minutes passed before a voice broke the sound of fists hitting flesh.

"Lady Hinata!" The three bullies had looked between each other before they ran in the opposite direction of the voice. No more than a minute later, a man had entered the cluster of trees.

"Let's go, Lady Hinata. You mustn't get involved with him." The man had ignored Hinata's further protests as he pulled her away. She continued to watch Naruto, even though he remained motionless on the ground.

That was the last time Hinata saw Naruto, until the first day of the Ninja Academy. Her face burned with heat as she saw him enter the classroom. Her mouth has begun to open but quickly closed as he climbed the stairs between the desks. Even though Hinata did not call to him, Naruto had still chosen to sit next to her.

Hinata watched Naruto as he looked around the room with excitement. However, she had also noticed a faint glimmer of fear in his eyes. Without thinking, Hinata reached out her hand to grab his. Upon realizing what she had done, a bright blush covered her entire face.

"Hey, are you okay?" Naruto asked. He noticed Hinata sway in her seat before she fell to the floor unconscious. His other classmates had begun to stare as they heard the impact. Naruto quickly sat on the floor and drew his limbs against his body. It had been nothing but instinct that led him to close himself up under the gazes of those around him. The villagers never physically hurt Naruto, but the glares they sent his way made even the smallest look felt malicious.

"You might want to get her to the nurse," a quiet voice said. Naruto had slowly raised his head to look at the boy who spoke. He almost looked like an ANBU member with how his face obscured with a hooded jacket.

"Oh, r-right!" Naruto carefully moved to sit on his knees before he had slapped his cheeks a couple of times. Now was not the time to freeze up, a girl was lying unconscious on the floor here. With a deep breath and the determination that soon bubbled to life, Naruto pulled Hinata into a sitting position. The boy that had spoken earlier kept her up while he spun around to carry her on his back.

Naruto carefully brought himself to his feet to avoid dropping Hinata. He adjusted her slightly to make sure she was on securely before he began his run down the stairs. He had ignored the stares that were shot his way, it was not the time to be scurrying behind a piece of furniture to hide. Just before Naruto made it to the door, a man with a scar on his nose had entered the room.

The man looked Naruto up and down before he said, "What happened here?" Naruto felt as his muscles tensed at the stern tone. That usually meant he was in trouble, but he had a good reason to not follow the rules this time.

"Yeah, tell him you _baby_!" an obnoxiously loud voice said. Naruto had tensed even more before he saw the man give him an encouraging look as if he was saying, 'It's fine. I just want to know what happened.'

"I think I may have frightened her- or something," Naruto rambled, "Cause.. um-I guess what I'm saying is-"

"Just take her to the nurse's office near the stairs by the entrance." The man had sighed as he pinched the bridge of his nose. Naruto sheepishly grinned as a blushed formed on his cheeks.

Naruto had turned his body to keep facing the man as he left the room. It was not that he did not trust him, but most adults acted like he was a demon. The hallway had felt like a sanctuary without people with judging glares. The walls echoed Naruto's footsteps as he jogged down towards the nurse.

'I hope I get a chance to apologize to her, I feel bad for making her faint. Maybe after this, we can be friends. Oh! I can invite her to Ichiraku's!' Naruto had smiled at himself for coming up with such a brilliant idea. Buying Ichiraku Ramen was the best act of apology ever.

Naruto had practically teleported to the nurse's office when the lunch bell had rung. He planned to apologize and buy her all the ramen she could eat. Nobody would stop him, well that is what he thought before he saw a man in loose-fitting robes and a haori. The man wore a stern expression, and the aura around him was almost nerve-racking.

Naruto's eyes had turned to Hinata as she exited the nurse's office. She lightly blushed as a hint of an upset expression painted her face. The man glared at Naruto as he was about to walk to Hinata. The gaze petrified him to no end.

"Hinata, come," the man commanded. His blank eyes had continued to drill holes into Naruto's, which caused a feeling of helplessness deep inside of him.

"Yes, Father." Hinata offered Naruto a smile before she continued to walk with Hiashi. The redhead sank to his knees the moment he turned around. Nobody was kidding when they said the Hyugas' gazes were deadly, but this took it in a less deadly direction.

"I will be watching you, Uzumaki," Hiashi said. He had then left the building with a bang as the door was nearly slammed shut.

Many of Naruto's classmates had given him annoyed looks as he ran passed them in the hall. They were on their way to the Academy Training Grounds for, well, training. Whatever Iruka had planned was bound to be good, at least that is what Naruto hoped. It could not be that bad, since every student here wanted to be a ninja; and ninja had to learn to use Chakra to stay alive. Naruto grinned as he saw the door outside. This was it, he was about to take step one on his journey to be Hokage.

The wind rustled red locks as Naruto nearly fell out of the door, a side effect of nearly tackling it. The buzz of conversation, and bugs, became louder the closer to the training ground he was. Around the corner had been multiple posts and targets that were arranged in straight lines around the clearing. Naruto also noticed several trees around the perimeter, none a swing like the one out front. He was rather fond of said swing.

"I can already use Chakra," a brown-haired boy complained. The boy in a light grey hooded jacket just simply nodded to signal he was listening. Naruto felt like he had interacted with the hooded boy, but was not sure when that had been. With a shrug, he walked over to a post and sat down with his back against it. The wood was rough, even through clothes, not that there was time to complain.

"Everyone, listen up! Like I said earlier, this afternoon you will be learning to draw on and or improve your use of Chakra," Iruka said, "To do that, a leaf will be given to all of you. With it, everyone should try and draw their Chakra to the leaf to make it stick on your forehead."

"But sensei! Most of us know how to use Chakra already!" the same obnoxious voice from earlier shouted. A visible tick mark had made its way onto Iruka's forehead. Sass was not something that he took lightly.

"If you'd rather fail this class, I can send a form to your mother so she can consent with you being held back a year." The boy had instantly paled at that as a whimper escaped his lips. Iruka had waited a minute to see if the rest were fine with continuing.

When no one else objected, Iruka cut a leaf from one of the trees. Shushed murmurs scattered the area as Iruka placed the foliage to his forehead protector. With sudden gusto, the leaf twirled before it twirled off and stuck to a pink-haired girl's forehead. Said girl grabbed the leaf, and look it over in wonder.

Iruka had started to cut leaves off the trees as students began to line up. The line soon spilt off into like three branches, so Naruto just joined a random one and watched how his classmates scattered. Small groups formed slowly as the line shortened. None of them seemed like they wanted someone else to join them, so Naruto took this own leaf to where had been sitting before.

"For those of you who don't know how to draw Chakra, listen up! For the first few times, until you are used to drawing on it, you will need to meditate. To meditate, you have to sit cross-legged, shut your eyes, and take deep breaths. If you feel a mass of energy, slowly drag it around your system as practice before you bring it to where you need it. To do find your Chakra, it may be easier to use the ram hand sign you were taught this morning."

'Alright, that sounds easy enough,' Naruto thought. He had pulled his legs towards his body before taking a few deep breaths. He formed the ram sign as he felt the river grow larger. Naruto had felt confident when he felt a decent amount of energy, so he began to pull it from his abdomen to his forehead.

Naruto placed the leaf onto his forehead before he concentrated his Chakra to it. Without warning, it shot passed his hand and fell to the ground a meter away. Naruto had huffed as he noticed where the leaf wound up. Training to properly use Chakra was going to be difficult, but it was so worth it. He grinned like a loon as he mentally accepted the challenge. This exercise would give him something to do at home too.

"Sakura, that's amazing! How did you do it longer than me?" a girl shouted.

"Well, it wasn't that much longer though," Sakura said, "I'm not used to using my Chakra yet, so I don't know." Iruka walked towards the girl and placed his hand on her head.

"It's alright, you will get it eventually," Iruka reassured her, "It takes time to do anything well."

"Thank you, sensei! I'll try until I can do it for a minute or more!" The girl beside her had appeared to scoff before she egotistical smiled.

"If that's the case, I'll do it for a minute and a half or more!" The girls had begun to, in Naruto's opinion, playfully bicker with each other as Iruka approached another group of students. Naruto had wanted to talk with the girls to ask how they did it, but he wanted to try more than once before he did.

Naruto closed his eyes and began to find his pool of Chakra again. Once he had found it, he tried to take less of it. Naruto was not sure if did grab less, but he pulled it to his forehead once again. The leaf shot away from Naruto once again. However, this time it appeared to be closer to him this time. A smile had made itself at home on his face. The afternoon had continued on like that until the moment classes ended.

Naruto had sighed as he threw out his instant ramen cup. He was a bit upset that everyone else in his class managed to get the leaf to stick, even if it was a few seconds. As he walked into his bedroom, the leaf called out to him from the rickety table beside his bed. Maybe it was time to try again, just to show that he is at least on par with his classmates.

Naruto had held the leaf to his forehead as he meditated on the floor. Chakra flowed through his body to reach his forehead, and it began to gather. The leaf clung for a second before it was blown away by a pulse of Chakra. Naruto grumbled as he stood up, why did the damn thing have to fly away with him when most of his classmates' just fell from their foreheads.

"Huh? Why does my leaf have a tear in it?" Naruto asked to the air. He knew that was not there before this attempt. Maybe his Chakra tore it, but how could that have been possible. With a shrug, Naruto returned to training. He had hoped to get the stupid leaf to stick before he went to bed.


	2. Chapter 2

The sun shone through tattered curtains and hit a leaf with a few tears in it. The palm it sat on clenched around it as a groan broke the silence in the room. Said hand was smacked onto the wooden floor as Naruto pushed himself into a sitting position.

"That's the last time I sleep on the floor," Naruto groaned as he stood up. He had a feeling it would not be, but it hurt nothing to say otherwise. With that, he walked out of the bedroom and into the bathroom. Naruto was not one for showering every day; if he considered that he slept on the floor the previous night, it was necessary this time.

Naruto pulled the wrench that he was using as a handle to turn the water on. The redhead shivered as he was hit with cold water. The water heater had broken a while back, but nobody would fix it. So cold water was the only option, which is why Naruto did not shower very often.

Naruto ran down the streets of Konoha towards the Academy. He passed a few ninja who just returned from missions and merchants who opened their stores early for said ninja. The air sent shivers across the village as the wind blew. Luckily, it did not take Naruto long to reach the Academy.

A grin broke out on Naruto's face as he entered the classroom. He ran up the stairs before he fell excitedly onto a chair butt first. Red strands of hair were brushed away from ocean blue eyes, which landed on pale, pupilless ones.

"Good morning, Hinata!" The girl squeaked, but still gave Naruto a smile. Hinata took a deep breath as she waited for her heart to settle. A moment later, she turned to Naruto with a small smile.

"Morning," Hinata stuttered. She brushed back a strand of hair out if her face and gazed at her lap. Naruto tilted his head as he watched Hinata play with the hem of her shirt before he could say anything the classroom door opened. Iruka walked in with his usual binder, but it looked fuller today.

"Quiet down," Iruka called. Several students ignored the man, either not hearing him, or by choice; that cause the man to sigh in annoyance. Suddenly, Iruka's head grew, and his neck stretched toward the desks.

"Quiet down!" All the students jumped back in surprise, some even slide under the desks to hide. Iruka sighed before he grabbed a piece of chalk. The tapping and gliding of chalk guided the student back into their seats as Iruka wrote the subject on the board: Geography, which is everything.

Naruto wrote down a few notes during the lecture but ignored most of it. He knew this was important to learn about the other countries, it was just hard to concentrate when it seemed the same thing was being said on repeat: "- southeast... northeast... not friendly, in fact, our villages have had many confrontations in the past-"

Naruto yawned as he stretched up and out of his desk. He looked at Hinata from the corner of his eyes before smiling. Now was the time to strike and strike fast.

"Hey, Hinata, wanna grab lunch with me?" Said girl blushed and pushed her index fingers together, eyes darted side to side.

"I'm... I'm sorry, Naruto, but I can't today either," Hinata stuttered. Naruto's smile slipped for a brief second before it came back twice as strong. A blush, the colour of his hair, appeared on Hinata's face.

"Just let me know when your free, okay?" Naruto said. He ran towards the door, not bothered by the reply he did not hear.

Naruto made it to Ichiraku Ramen within minutes and only slowed down to enter the establishment. He hopped up onto a stool and waited for the old man behind the counter to take his order, which never took long. Naruto hoped he could share the joy of eating Ichiraku Ramen with friends, even if it were only one or two.

'Eventually,' Naruto thought, 'I'll have a friend, even if nobody wants to be right now.'

A month passed uneventfully, which made Naruto horribly bored. That is why he had begun skipping class to practise the few ninja skills Iruka had taught them the first week. That might have been the reason why he was called for a meeting in the Academy's Administration Building, where Hiruzen was sitting behind a desk. The room the man sat in was somewhat cramped with random clutter from books and scrolls, to mismatched furniture. Naruto could barely make out a window behind some of the piles, which is where most of the light entered the room. Shadows danced across the aged Hokage's face as he watched Naruto for a minute before he spoke with an even tone.

"Naruto, do you know why I called you here?" Naruto looked over to the Hokage before a grin broke out on his face.

"Because you're letting me graduate early?" Naruto answered innocently. A sigh emitted from the Hokage, which sound tired and slightly annoyed. The silence was almost maddening as Naruto waited for the Hokage to speak once more.

"Naruto... Why have you been skipping your Academy classes?"

"... Eh, they aren't that exciting," Naruto admitted. Naruto could feel the Hokage's gaze bore into him intensely, which felt like time stood still for what felt like an hour. When a cough finally broke the silence, it felt like rocks fell off the redhead's skin.

"Please go to all of your classes for the next month, or else..." Hiruzen paused, "I'll have no choice but to expel you." Naruto froze in place before he shook his head and grinned.

"Don't worry, Gramps!" Naruto exclaimed, "I'll start tomorrow. Seeyah! I'm going to get some ramen!" Naruto left the Hokage stunned before he stood from the desk and left the room too.

'Minato, I wonder how you would deal with this situation,' Hiruzen thought. He walked down the hall back to the Mission Reception. No matter what anybody said, he always felt like Minato had made a stupid decision that fateful night nearly nine years ago.

"And that's how the Fourth Hokage's genin team ca-" Iruka said before the door interrupted him. Naruto walked through the door and quietly closed the door. As the redhead faced Iruka, a grin broke out on his face.

"Hehe, sorry sensei," Naruto said. He scratched the back of his head nervously before walked to his desk. Iruka sighed before he examined the notes he kept on the podium to his right. The next topic for discussion was: Geography.


	3. Chapter 3

"Hey, sensei! Here's my form for taking the graduation exam early!" Naruto said excitedly. Iruka sighed as he took the paper, this was the second year he tried this. The previous year, Naruto was the only applicant from his class; this time, however, Sasuke also submitted a form.

"I'll let you know tomorrow when I decide who will take the exam," Iruka instructed.

"What do you mean?" Naruto asked, "Aren't I the only one?"

"Please sit down, I would like to start class." Naruto huffed as he turned around and walked passed his classmates' desks. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Sasuke smirk before he turned back to the window.

'I'll show you, Sasuke,' Naruto thought with huffily, 'I'll be the one to take the exam this time too.'

Naruto happily walked down the halls of the Academy; each step had sprung with vigour. A grin tugged on the edges of his mouth. It felt great to be the only student from his class to take the exam early, even if he had rigged the selection process. If he got to graduate early, the look on Sasuke's face would be worth the years he lost to the "prodigy."

'Pfft, prodigy... as if,' Naruto thought, 'Sasuke, just like every prodigy, had been born lucky. If he did not have his family, he would be just like me.' Some part of Naruto knew that might not be the case, but that did not stop him from wanting to believe that.

'I have to prove to everyone that the average person can surpass a genius through hard work!" Class 303 came into view, which made Naruto's face light up with a smile and sparkles in his eyes. He ran up to the door and eagerly opened the door. The upperclassmen inside intensely stared at Naruto, who froze in place. As they returned to their conversations, the redhead calmed down slower than their gazes retreated. A push jerked Naruto out of his stupor. Pale, nearly completely white eyes met with blue ones: the redhead froze again this time in shock.

'A Hyuga!' Naruto thought. The older boy stopped steps away from Naruto and turned his head, so the redhead was just barely in his sight.

"You're not fated to be here yet," the boy stated monotonously. Naruto bit his tongue and walked to the other side of the class from the older boy. No matter how annoyed he was, and how much he wanted to retort, his chance to graduate early was more important. Iruka threatened Naruto earlier that day by saying: "Whatever you do, don't cause trouble. I have informed the teacher to send you back immediately if you do." With that in mind, Naruto headed for the back of the class.

Naruto sat down and immediately laid his head on the wooden desk and quickly buried his face into his arms. He had the chance to graduate and failed miserably. Who knew they would pick just the Clone Jutsu for the ninjutsu test, and not let the students decide on which one they would perform.

"Naruto!? What are you still doing here?" Iruka called from the door. Naruto's face lit up before he ran over to the man.

"Can I join the summer classes?" Iruka's brow furrowed and rose on one side at the question, curiosity running through him.

"Your marks were all passing Naruto, why would you want to study them over?" Naruto hesitated at the question; he did not think the idea through all the way. The only thing he knew was: he NEEDED to get better, so he graduated next year.

"Because, while taking that exam today," Naruto said, "I realized that I am not where I should be. That's why I need to relearn the subjects you taught us." Iruka nodded and told Naruto when the summer program started. The summer was not going to be fun, but it would be worth it in the end.

Sunlight trickled through tattered curtains that had patchy and messy stitches throughout, which seemed to be the same material as the bedding the light landed upon. A groan faded into a yawn. The bed creaked as the weight on top of it shifted from side to side. A sigh emanated from under the comforter before Naruto sat up. It took a few minutes for the redhead to get out of bed, but it did not matter; he had time to kill after all.

In the future, Naruto hoped he could renovate his apartment, and even expand into the others in the building. Not that it was a high priority since he needed to become a ninja first. Without another thought, Naruto left his bedroom and walked over to the opposite wall where the kitchen was.

The stove flickered to life after several attempts, soon a frying pan was placed onto it. Naruto quickly grabbed a few eggs from the fridge and cracked them onto the heated pan. The sizzle of the pan delighted Naruto just as it had when his friends at Ichiraku Ramen taught him to cook 'beginner' recipes.

"Wait! It's Monday!" Naruto exclaimed. He bounced from foot to foot as he waited for his eggs to cook, not wanting to get sick like last time he rushed cooking food. A moment later, he stuffed the eggs into his mouth. Hands clutched over his mouth as he chewed, the heat burned his tongue worse with each second. Naruto ran to the faucet, and drunk straight from it; the burning sensation had slowly subsided.

Naruto sprinted into his room and flung a dresser drawer open, which ripped half the handle off. The redhead huffed before he threw the handle across the room, he did not have time to fix it. Clothes began to fly around the room as they were thrown. Orange, black, and white littered the floor and bed as Naruto looked for his tracksuit pants.

The sun shone unobstructed in the sky, warming the ground below it. People happily walked the streets in light, loose clothing; Naruto was no exception. He wore his favourite tracksuit pants and a white t-shirt with the jacket tied around his waist. A light smile remained glued to his face, as today was the first day of his last year in the Academy; it was a day to celebrate and rejoice. A ninja had freedom and respect, the two things Naruto wanted most in life.

The Academy beckoned its students forward as they neared. Each students' attitude varied to some degree, but the most common one was tired. Most of them were used to waking when they wanted but now had to arrive for classes before they started at 8:30 am.

"Morning, Hinata!" Naruto greeted. The girl blushed before she gave a shy smile.

"Good Morning, Naruto," Hinata greeted back.

Several minutes after the bell rang, Iruka walked into the classroom, where the students busied themselves with varied tasks. The dominant sound was chatter, it made sense; many of the students had not seen each other for a month and a half. Iruka left them alone for a couple of minutes as he set up his podium.

"Alright, class, eyes front!" Iruka said, "I know we haven't seen each other for a while, and that's why today is going to start the year easily." Iruka started with roll-call, then reviewed the History they learned the previous years. The class continued to study various subjects until the afternoon when Iruka dragged the students to the training ground.

"Instead of training physically, you will just be sparing today," Iruka said, "After your fights, you can leave early. Since there is an odd amount of students today, I'll fight the remaining one." The first few fights were not great, to say the least; a majority of the kids had not improved over the summer. Naruto casually chatted with Hinata as the fights between the students he never cared to speak with happened.

"Next up is..." Iruka said before he examined the crowd and chose two students at random.

"Sakura Haruno and Kiba Inuzuka." Gasps and mumbles filled the training ground as they entered the fighters entered the ring. Kiba was one of the best students in taijutsu, he rivalled Sasuke for the top spot.

"Ready... Go!" Kiba shot forward impatiently, and he partially drew back his fist. He quickly stomped his foot on the ground and spun. Sakura instinctively brought her arms to block, but they were pushed into her body. The momentum made the girl skid back a few feet. A kick struck Sakura in the cheek before she could react; a trail of blood was left in its wake.

"The winner is Kiba Inuzuka," Iruka announced. As he checked Sakura and patched her up as needed, Kiba swaggered passed his classmates. Naruto scowled as Kiba neared him, what was his problem.

"Why are you so confident?" Naruto asked, "Was your self-worth so low that beating one of the worst students in Taijutsu an ego boost?" Kiba stood still as the redhead talked, nails dug into flesh while doing so.

"Break it up!" Iruka called, "Next up is Sasuke Uchiha vs Hinata Hyuga." Naruto's eyes widened in shock. It was not like he expected to fight Sasuke; it had become something of a routine, though.

"Good luck, Hinata!" Naruto called. Hinata gave him a smile that felt like it shot through his heart. Naruto smiled back and walked closer to the ring shortly before the match began.

Sasuke waited ten seconds after Iruka started the match, but Hinata refused to make the first move. He ran forward and aimed a punch at the girl's head. Hinata felt a light breeze hit her cheek, which showed how close the blow was to hitting her. Without waiting for his opponent to recover, Sasuke knelled and swept the ground with his leg.

Hinata jumped over as Sasuke's kick, but she had not made it over, which caused her to stumble. With the momentum, she spun on her foot and kicked him. Sasuke stumbled forward, which gave Hinata enough time to get more distance between them. Within seconds, Sasuke closed the gap. Hinata locked in place before a punch to her gut pushed her over the perimeter.

"Are you okay, Hinata?" Naruto asked. He knew Sasuke did not go that hard on her, he never did with those he knew could not fight back to his standards. That is what Naruto's fights with Sasuke told him anyway if the harder punches were anything to go by.

"... Yes, thank you." Naruto helped Hinata to her feet and wished her well before she headed home. The next couple of fights between Choji and Shino, and Shikamaru and Ino were nothing impressive. Shino was below average in taijutsu, but Choji was not much better; he preferred to munch on chips than fight. While Shikamaru forfeited after Ino gave him a black eye, claiming he found the whole thing troublesome.

Naruto took a deep breath as he faced Iruka. He wanted to show the man how much he improved, even if it meant punching him. After a minute of staring Iruka down, the redhead shot forward; the man quickly saw it coming, however. Iruka threw Naruto to the side, sending him rolling across the ground, just shy of the white line. Even though the first attempt botched, Naruto kept bombarding the man with the same trick at new angles.

'His form has gotten better,' Iruka thought, 'But he has no sense of strategy, I think I should call it now. I don't want this to continue.' Iruka grabbed Naruto's fist once more before twisting it behind the boy's back.

"Alright, that is quite enough, Naruto," Iruka sighed, "I'll give you a passing grade this time around. I expect to see some strategy next time because any other ninja will not be afraid to exploit your rush in approach."

"Thank you for the advice, sensei!" Naruto chirped, "See you tomorrow!" Naruto ran from the Academy grounds without a look back; if he had, he would have seen Iruka shake his head.

**A******/N:**** I thought I'd explain the early graduation exam a bit. Iruka got permission to allow one student to take the graduation exam early. The reason Sasuke did not take the exam their second year in the Academy when the application process opens, is because he wanted to be sure he was ready to take it without a chance of failure. He acts a lot smarter than Naruto, who is still rather dense in some areas in this story.


	4. Chapter 4

"Are you sure? You did buy these with your own money," Naruto said. His gazed darted from the pastries to Hinata several times. Nobody shared with him, let alone allow him to buy anything that was not necessary to live.

Naruto felt guilty, questioning his friend like this, even though nobody offered things like this before. Maybe that meant this time was different. The redhead never had a friend before Hinata, so he could not be sure if this was something friends did.

"I'm sure," Hinata said, "That's part of the reason I bought them."

"Part of?" Hinata fiddled with her fingers as a blush formed on her face. It looked like she was not going to explain herself until a steady breath was drawn.

"Cinnamon buns are one of my favourite foods," Hinata admitted to the ground, "I don't eat them very often, but when I do, I like doing so at this spot." Naruto quickly examined the area, and happily smiled as he watched the river below them rush by. The duo sat on a bridge near the edge of the village. Very few people walked by, which made it quiet.

"Yeah, this spot is very peaceful," Naruto said. A hum passed his lips as he bit into the pastry. The sweetness of the glaze danced with the cinnamon. Naruto closed his eyes in content, and let himself relax.

Hinata was drawn away from the cinnamon bun in hand when Naruto started humming once again. A blush formed on her face before she could distract herself. Hinata was glad to have invited Naruto to her monthly outing.

A few minutes passed in peaceful silence as birds chirped, and the river continued to rush beneath the duo. Conversation eluded them as the box of cinnamon buns slowly disappeared. The air did not feel tense, or even heavy; in fact, it was as light as the breeze.

"I'll be right back, Hinata!" Naruto said. He happily ran off to find a trash can, which left Hinata sitting on the bridge alone. The dark-haired girl folded her arms in an attempt to dissuade anyone from approaching her. However, that did not stop Ko from bringing her back home.

Naruto whistled on his way back to where he left Hinata. It was difficult to find a trashcan close by to where they were. So he had to run a few minutes into the village. Where people grumbled as he ran passed them, saying along the lines of: _why's the demon in such a hurry._ Naruto did not care though, it was not anything new after all. What happened to be was an Anbu appearing before him.

"Naruto Uzumaki, the Hokage wishes to speak with you. He will be waiting in Mission Reception." With that, the Anbu disappeared from sight as quickly as they showed themselves. Naruto broke out in a grin and promised to apologize to Hinata in class tomorrow for not being able to return.

"Hey, Gramps! You wanted to see me!" Naruto said. A grin split his face as he approached the old Hokage, who sat behind the Mission Reception Desk. Hiruzen gave Naruto a closed moth smile, to prevent his pipe from falling out of his mouth.

"I did," Hiruzen said, "I have been meaning to give you something for years now, but I had forgotten about it until recently. It seems my age is catching up to me." Naruto tilted his head before his eyes lit up.

"Really?! What is it?" Naruto exclaimed, "A sword? New Kunai? The Hokage Title?" The last one was a long shot, but Naruto felt the need to have it thrown it in any way.

Hiruzen chuckled as he summoned a wrapped box from a scroll he kept in his robe. It was wrapped in a simple red paper with a navy ribbon on top of it. Naruto picked it up and carefully examined it.

"Your mother left that for you before she... died." Naruto looked up at Hiruzen with a curious look, and an obvious question on his lips.

"You knew my mom?" Hiruzen sighed as he placed his pipe on the table. He already planned to tell Naruto after he found the present, but the subject was delicate. The Fourth Hokage could not be mentioned until Hiruzen was sure Naruto would either: not run his mouth or could at least protect himself adequately if he ever did.

"I did know her, though not as well as others from this village-"

"Others know her too! You gotta tell me, yahknow!" Hiruzen shook his head. It seemed Kushina gave Naruto more than her red hair and personality.

"I am sorry, Naruto, but even if I told you," Hiruzen said, "The ones that knew her best are either dead or away from the village." Brief images of Minato, Jiraiya, Tsunade, and Kakashi flashed through his head, among the others that died at various points.

"That's okay, Gramps," Naruto said, a slight frown sat on his face, "I wouldn't mind hearing what you know though, yahknow. Maybe I'll speak with the others when I get the chance." Hiruzen smiled before he pointed at the forgotten box in the boy's hands.

"Why don't you open that first, we can talk after." Naruto's face lit up as he tore into the wrapping. Inside the box sat a hand-knitted scarf, and a note that he planned to read later.

A couple months passed by in the blink of an eye and brought with it the cold temperatures of winter. Naruto sat on his bed, bundled in several blankets as he observed the first snowfall of the year. Everyone always talked about how it was better to watch this kind of thing with someone close, but the redhead did not feel comfortable enough to invite someone over.

Naruto's classmates had begun to talk with him more this year, as he had shown a side of himself they never saw before. A few of them, like Shikamaru, questioned where it came from; an explanation was not something the redhead could give.

Naruto was happy none the less to have the chance to develop more friendships in his class. Even if he still hung out with Hinata most of the time. The only negative was when assignments came around, they ignored him in favour of their usual partners.

"Today, I will be giving you a field assignment," Iruka announced, "In groups of three, you will be tracking and capturing rabbits. This will simulate the kinds of missions you will be taking as Genin, and allow you to get experience working as a trio." Iruka then pulled out a hat and begun to call out teams.

"Hinata, Shino, and Naruto; you will be our eighth team to take the test." The rest of the class snickered, with the thought that the team was destined to fail in their minds. Naruto was not known for being quiet, and tracking missions were not something anyone believed he would pass.

The forest was silent except for the lightly crunching snow. Naruto slowly followed Hinata through the trees as he kept an eye on the rabbit's tracks in the light layer of snow. Hinata had her Byakugan activated, so she could tell Naruto and Shino when the rabbit was close by. The silence quickly got to the redhead and soon decided he wanted to ask something.

"Naruto, Shino," Hinata stuttered quietly, "I see the rabbit a kilometre forwards and a bit to the right."

"Alright! Let's split up as we had planned!" Naruto said with a hint of excitement, which raised his voice above a whisper. Hinata and Shino nodded before they reminded the boy to keep quiet. Naruto bit his lips before he nodded, and turned to face the direction the tracks went in. Without warning, Naruto dashed forward, while Shino and Hinata followed suit a few seconds later, but to either side of him.

The thin blanket of snow laid undisturbed on the trees as the layer on the ground crunched under Naruto's feet. The forest all around was dead silent, otherwise, as most of the animals already sought shelter for the winter. Which was lucky for Naruto's makeshift team and the other groups of Academy students; there was less deviation.

Naruto slowed to a stop before he gazed up at the slate-grey sky, which remained partially covered by grey clouds. The redhead pulled his teal scarf over his rosy cheeks with a sigh. The vapour from his mouth slowly drifted into the sky before the wind blew it away.

The light, swift crunching of the snow, snapped the boy from his blanking. A few meters away sat a brown rabbit with its head tilted. It was clear this was the rabbit Naruto, and the others had been looking for.

Ever so slowly, Naruto walked over to the rabbit. The animal hopped over to the tree line before it let the redhead near. Naruto extended his hand and gently petted it before he picked it up. Now he needed to reunite with Hinata and Shino before they returned to Iruka.

"Congratulations, Team Naruto, you pass!" Naruto cheered before giving a thumbs up to his teammates, who gave their acknowledgements back. The trio returned to their shared table to wait for the last team to finish.

"After class, do you want to do something?" Naruto asked.

"Sorry, but I have a prior engagement," Hinata said. Shino nodded in agreement, which made Naruto sigh.

"That's okay," Naruto said, "Let me know when you have some free time, okay." Shortly after, Naruto attempted to make small talk with them; It did not get too far, however. He shrugged before turning toward the blackboard.

"Now that everyone has returned, I'll give you your assignment for the next week. Everyone has to write a report on a person of your choosing. It could be a parent, a historical figure, or a pet." It was an immediate decision on Naruto's part, who rushed down to his teacher.

"Iruka-Sensei, I know who I'm choosing, ya know!" Naruto shouted in excitement.

"Is it a Hokage?"

"Yep!" Naruto affirmed, "The Fourth to be exact!" Iruka smiled as he looked at the space beside Naruto's name on a piece of paper, written was 'Fourth Hokage.' It had been a natural assumption, since the boy told the class, on multiple occasions, that he admired the man.

Konoha Library housed a quiet atmosphere for those who wanted a peaceful place to work or read. It housed a great selection on various topics that included; cooking, medical texts, self-help, and history, to name a few.

Naruto walked to the history section, where the librarians placed the books on the Hokage. The Fourth was only Hokage for a year and a half maximum. So finding a book solely about his career was nearly impossible.

Naruto walked to a shelf in the middle of the aisle and pulled out a book titled: The Complete History of the Hokages' Reigns. Naruto jogged over to a nearby table and excitedly opened the book. He planned to read the whole thing, even though he only needed a chapter or two.

A sigh escaped into the morning air, fluttering to the clouds without care. Naruto was headed to the Academy's Training Ground. He needed some exercise after spending most of the day before sitting and reading. It was not bad though, he liked reading up on the Hokage.

A few minutes passed before Naruto arrived at the training ground. Luckily, the snow had been shovelled. Naruto felt a bit of pity for the first years. Academy traditions stated: first years must remove any debris and snow from the school grounds. It made no sense to Naruto, but the feeling quickly passed.

Naruto took off his jacket and threw it to the frozen ground. He performed two sets of fifty push-ups, sit-ups, squats, and jumping jacks. Several times through the workout, Naruto's body wanted to quit; it was thanks to his indomitable that he persevered through the entire thing.

Afterwards, Naruto practised the Jutsu he knew. They were only the basics, but every ninja started with them. Transforming was a piece of cake since it was the staple of his Sexy Jutsu. Substituting was iffy for Naruto since most of the time, he could not decide on what to switch places with, which led to a civilian getting punched by Sasuke. Cloning was the real issue; no matter what he did, it never turned out. A clone was always produced these days, unlike years prior. However, it resembled a bag of flour more than himself.

Naruto let out an annoyed sigh before speaking to himself, "How should I go about this? My only options are to: look for a way to use the Jutsu or find another one entirely. I'll go with the latter, I don't want to fail the final test a third time." With that in mind, Naruto picked up his damp jacket. Even though it was the weekend, at least one ninja scroll shop should be open.

'Ninja Scrolls 4 You' was not a large store by any means, but it certainly had a large selection. The slightly off white walls held hundreds of scrolls with a variety of uses. The shelves were stuffed to their limits then some. Different colours had been mixed together, and some were sticking out at odd angles; others seemed to be held in place by others.

'I doubt they needed to stick everything out at once,' Naruto thought as he had walked the store, 'They could get fined for injury.' The last comment seemed to have come from a book of laws he had skimmed once and never picked up again.

Half an hour passed by quickly as Naruto searched the store for Jutsu scrolls, which were not altogether; it had been frustrating. The pay off was not in sight until he pulled a blue scroll from the shelf next to him; it was for the Water Clone Jutsu. Naruto's face lit up as he realized that was the one. However, he could not afford the 1100 Ryo price. Not that he did not have the money, he did, but that was most of it.

'I don't want to starve just to graduate,' Naruto thought. A minute passed as the redhead debated with himself, when a voice from deep within him said, _'Why should you pay for something difficult to find? Those idiots won't even know it's missing.' _With a shrug, Naruto pocketed the scroll. It was time to make his escape, but that had meant getting passed the workers.

'Why did I listen to the voice in my head?' Naruto thought bitterly. He looked around the store discreetly, trying not to draw attention to himself, that was when it hit him. All he had to do was knock a shelf over, preferably onto himself, and replace himself with something outside. The plan was stupid, but it just had to work. With a deep breath, Naruto reached for one of the higher shelves and pulled.

"Substitution," Naruto whispered as he fell back. In seconds, he was in an alley with no harm done to himself. Though a pang of guilt smacked him, maybe that had not been the best idea. Naruto knew it was too late at that point, even if he felt bad.

'I'll just train harder than before,' Naruto thought, 'That will make stealing a thing of the past.' With a confident grin, Naruto began to head home with the thoughts of a full day of training ahead.

The sun was hidden behind darkened clouds and provided enough cover to cool the temperature. Naruto was happy about it since he had been in a large open clearing with dark clothes on. They came from a clothing store's dumpster, but he never minded the weird mistakes that had happened in their production.

The black t-shirt had two orange sleeves that were noticeably mismatched in two ways: each arm was a different shade, and the left sleeve went down to the middle of the boy's forearm. The dark grey shorts were torn, that was it, they could have repaired it; Naruto had no room to judge though, he knew nothing about sewing.

Naruto decided to make the set of fifty push-ups, sit-ups, squats, and jumping jacks a routine and would upgrade it when necessary, which happened to be that day. The first upgrade occurred that day in the form of fifty laps around the clearing.

With the warm-up out of the way, Naruto took out the scroll he had stolen. It was a C-Rank Water Style Jutsu that only gave the clone a tenth of the user's power. Naruto surmised that he would need to create at least ten for there to be any significant effect. Maybe in the future, he would not need this Jutsu, or perhaps he would strengthen it; either would make the boy feel accomplished.

First of all, Naruto had to master the Jutsu before anything else could happen. Luckily, the river passed through this clearing on its way out of the village. The scroll said it would be easier for people to use the Jutsu with a water source, especially so if the user did not have a water affinity in their Chakra.

'I'll have to learn mine someday soon,' Naruto thought. He slapped both cheeks simultaneously before he shook his head.

"Get it together!" Naruto shouted to himself. Now was not the time for distractions, it was time for action. He made his way over to the river and performed the required tiger seal. Nothing happened, so Naruto tried again; this time, he pictured the water rising. It took an hour before the water splashed slightly, and nothing more.

The same result came time and time again, earning the activity a frustrated sigh. After several hours, a more considerable splash erupted from the small ball of water that had formed. Naruto gleefully smiled as he saw the results.

"Yes! Ifinallydidit! Kind of!" The birds in the surrounding area had flown off, scared by the yelling. Naruto began to laugh and could not control himself for several minutes. It was the first real accomplishment the redhead had in years.

'If I keep working hard, I'll have my first serious Jutsu!' With that in mind, Naruto got back to work. No more progress was made by the time Naruto's stomach interrupted his training. The day had proven to be fruitful, and the redhead could not wait to show off once he mastered the Jutsu.

**A/N: **If anything in this chapter seems rushed or needs expanding, please let me know so I can expand upon it. I had a lot I wanted to do in this chapter, and I couldn't put the same amount of effort into every scene. **Edit 9/25/2019: **Thank you, Shinatoa, for the review! I moved the flashback, that is not one anymore, to before the Rabbit Hunt to make it flow better!


	5. Chapter 5

The sun shone down on a class of ninja hopefuls, who watched their classmates spar. Iruka had been fair so far. He gave the students opponents they could fight as equals. That being said, whoever was going to fight Sasuke would be at an immediate disadvantage. He was the best in the class, though Kiba and Choji were close contenders in taijutsu. 

'I bet I'll have to fight one of them,' Naruto thought as someone stumbled out of the ring, 'Wouldn't be the first time.' Iruka always paired Naruto with someone he could not compete against, like when he made the redhead test the speed of his hand signs against Sakura.

To no one's surprise, Sakura versus Ino was the next match. Every time there were taijutsu spars, Iruka paired the two of them. It seemed the world, or Iruka at least, was dead-set on them testing their lack of fighting skills against one another.

Naruto assumed it was to push the girls to train: even if it were true, that was wishful thinking at best. There were only two things Ino and Sakura cared about: their looks, and Sasuke. No matter how any person spun it, there was no gain from fighting an exact equal at every turn.

A prevailing hope that was shared by most of Naruto's classmates was for them to fight one of the two girls. It seemed like it was to stroke their own egos, which was a stupid thought. Iruka tended to grade the students as impartially as possible. It was admirable, but a chance at bonus marks would be appreciated once in a while.

"The spar between Ino Yamanaka and Sakura Haruno will now... Begin!" Stillness blanketed the area as the two girls stared each other down. It took a moment before Sakura made her move by charging straight at her opponent. Ino smirked with the belief that her victory was guaranteed; Sakura's temper helped further the idea.

Ino dashed forward a meter before she jumped to the side, which made Sakura punch the air. The blonde, who thought on her feet, crouched and swept Sakura's feet from under her. The pink-haired girl picked herself up and wiped the dust from her clothes before she made some distance between herself and Ino.

The two self-titled rivals glared at each other briefly before an unspoken agreement provoked them to rush forward. A series of punches connected to each girl but left little damage behind. Old feelings of friendship prevented Sakura and Ino from actually hurting each other.

The strength of each punch dwindled slightly as the exchange continued. Sakura took a deep breath to draw her remaining into her fist. The conclusion to her makeshift plan was drawing near. The sudden shift of Sakura's weight crunched the gravel under her feet.

"Cha!" Sakura shouted as her fist sailed through the air. The punch connected to Ino's abdomen and sent her passed the white barrier of the makeshift arena, which declared cemented Sakura's victory.

"Great job, Sakura!"

"That was amazing!" Sakura ignored the praise that her classmates sent her way. The pink-haired girl strode over to Ino and held out her hand. Ino let a small smile escape as she completed the Seal of Reconciliation.

'I guess I have some catching up to do,' Ino thought before she said, "I won't let this happen so easily next time, Sakura." Seeing Ino smile made Sakura smile as well, soon after both girls dropped their hands.

"Don't think I'll make it easy for you." Sakura and Ino then rejoined their classmates standing on the sidelines. Iruka wrote something on his clipboard before he announced the next spar.

"Sasuke Uchiha and Naruto Uzumaki, please enter the ring!" Naruto watched as Sasuke entered the arena before he walked into it himself. The redhead ignored the comments about how he would lose, it was an inevitability after all; even part of him believed that Sasuke would win.

Shortly after Iruka called for the battle to begin, Naruto ran towards Sasuke. He aimed a punch straight for his opponent's face, which was quickly, and easily blocked. Sasuke held Naruto's wrist before he returned the favour. Without thinking, Naruto blocked the strike with his forearm. Without a moment to think, the redhead gripped both of Sasuke's arms and pulled them towards himself. A notable thunk echoed through the area as Naruto delivered a nasty headbutt.

Sasuke groaned in pain from the strike. Another soon followed as after a kicked met with his abdomen. Naruto jumped back to plan a strategy before the spar continued. Sasuke was an elite, and the redhead knew he had no chance of winning ordinarily. An unusual battle style had to be created to combat the Uchiha's Taijutsu Style.

'If only I knew how Sakura won,' Naruto thought. His head dropped slightly in disappointment for his lack of serious training in the past. Before he could think further on the subject, he noticed movement in his peripherals.

Sasuke charged as Naruto had previously, but with a stern expression instead of a determined one. If the spar was not regulated, the redhead knew the Uchiha would have used his signature Jutsu. That fact scared him, as he had no way to defend against it.

A kick to the gut brought Naruto back to reality. He used the momentum from his stumbling to backflip and kicked Sasuke in the chin. Without hesitation, Naruto lunged forward. Another strike hit Sasuke's abdomen, who let out a grunt as a knee hit his face. Naruto believed he had the upper hand, which made a smirk grow on his face. It did not last long as Sasuke soon recovered.

"It was only luck that you managed to get so many blows out on me, but that ends now." Naruto bit his tongue in an attempt to resist making a snarky comeback. Comments like that caused him some trouble in the past. At least it had been a learning experience now that Naruto knew genin could be temperamental after missions. A ringing bell brought Naruto out of his thoughts.

"Alright, class, you are dismissed! Remember to be prepared for tomorrow's history exam!"

"Sensei, what about our spar?" Naruto asked. Iruka turned to face the boys and made eye contact with both of them individually. Slight annoyance rested in his eyes.

"It will have to wait," Iruka said, "Have a nice evening." Sasuke huffed before he left, opting to remain silent. Naruto wanted to say something but knew it would make no difference. The redhead sighed before he left, as well. That class was disappointing, but at least there was time for training.

Dull thuds echoed through the dense forest like an alarm. Field mice scurried away in fear, think a predator was near-by. Bark fell from the tree Naruto had been using as a punching bag. It helped with the frustration he felt. Heavy breathing began to fill the area, fighting to overtake the thunks. Eventually, Naruto let his arms fall beside him. He turned to lean against the tree and let himself slide onto the ground.

"Ugh, my arms feel like noodles!" Naruto said to the light breeze. It felt colder than it was, considering the amount of sweat on his body. Naruto gazed up through the trees to see that night had fallen. Stars twinkled in the sky with happiness at getting the spotlight. It might have been the hours of training or the quiet atmosphere that caused the redhead's eyes to flutter shut.

Birds chirped as the sun rose, and the air began to warm up. Naruto groaned as he sat up and stretched; the tree had not been kind. His body ached, but it was hard to tell what the exact cause of it. It took a few minutes before Naruto stood up and faced the tree once more.

Training was the only thing Naruto felt accomplished in, considering his competition. Thuds echoed through the forest as hues of orange and red shined from the horizon. Leaves danced in time with the strikes, and a few fell on top of the bark from last night.

Naruto huffed as thoughts of Sasuke plagued his mind. The Uchiha was natural in everything, while Naruto had to work hard. If he wanted to bet him next time, training was his only option. Resentment renewed Naruto's passion, as each new punch flowed better than the last. Even if he had to skip class, Naruto vowed he would never lose a fight against a classmate again.

Naruto walked down the halls of the Academy shortly after a meeting with the Third Hokage. The aged man was not thrilled about the redhead skipping his classes. A lecture ensued that resulted in the Third forcing Naruto to attend the Academy a minimum of three days of the school week. It provided him at least four days a week to train. 

'This sucks,' Naruto thought as he stopped in front of his classroom.

Iruka set down the brush he used to clean the board before he turned to the class. An irked expression rested on his face for the past half an hour since Naruto arrived. A sigh left his lips before he coughed to gather the attention of his class.

"Please head outside, today you will be tested on your thrown weapon accuracy."

Naruto bounced in place as he waited for his name to be called. Even though he rarely trained with kunai and shuriken, but was sure he would get a good mark. It nearly felt like yesterday that Naruto was terrible at throwing weapons, and laughed at his failure as if it were a joke.

Naruto's accuracy had not changed much over the years, even though he trained religiously in it at one point in time. He planned on it being different this time, maybe he could also get a bullseye. Not a jerky comment or laughing was gonna stop him.

"Naruto Uzumaki," Iruka called. Naruto ran to the chalk line on the ground that was a few meters away from the wooden post. Every student got to throw either 5 shuriken or kunai, so they had to be careful about they aimed.

Naruto drew in a deep breath before he threw his first shuriken, which was what the boy always used. It hit the wood with a loud thud, ending up in the ring just before the bullseye. The next two landed with a similar effect, but further from the desired target. The fourth barely nicked the edge of the wooden target before it fell onto the ground.

"What was that?" a kid yelled, "That was the lamest throw ever!" Something inside Naruto snapped and filled him with anger. It might have been because that classmate was worse than him, or something deep inside the redhead that caused what happened next.

It felt like it bubbled inside of Naruto as he whipped around with a shuriken in hand. Unbeknownst to him, the shuriken had been sent flying into the crowd. A few shrieks alerted those who did not notice the incoming projectile. Shortly after, a thunk and clink were heard.

Buried into a tree was a shuriken held in place by a kunai. Naruto moved his head to see Sasuke as he walked away from Hinata. The dark-haired boy seemed to be head to grab the... kunai.

Naruto's eyes widened in shock and disbelief. He had thrown a shuriken at Hinata; it was accidental, but the despair he felt was not lessened. Though, he felt relieved that Sasuke had fast enough reflexes to react. Anyone could have guessed what would have happened if he did not, but none of them were good. Realization struck Naruto like a knife to the heart. 

'Why? Why did this happen? Why did I throw it?' Naruto's heart panged with guilt and sadness, especially after another thought crossed his mind.

'Am I a monster like they say?' A single tear rolled down Naruto's face before he ran from the Academy's training ground, with one place in mind.

Sitting on the Fourth's stone face cheered Naruto up, that might have been why he ran there. At that moment, however, it was used as a place to reflect on what happened. Hinata was his friend and had been so kind to him. That is what made Naruto feel all the more guilty for nearly hitting her with a shuriken.

'I have always done and said the first thing that came to my mind,' Naruto thought, 'But isn't that what caused me to throw that shuriken?' Even if he was aware of why it happened, that did not stop similar situations in the future.

'It'll hurt Hinata, but I need to stay away to keep her safe.' Minutes later, Naruto began his descent off of the monument. He planned to go and train harder than before and try harder in the Academy.


	6. Chapter 6

Naruto underlined the sentence he had just written. The winner of the last Ninja War was notable, though he was not sure if it would be on the next exam. Note-taking was not as dull as Naruto once thought, although it was still tiresome. Nothing would be better than having someone do it for him. It was unlikely, but a boy could dream.

"Alright, class, we will stop here for lunch," Iruka announced, "Please make it back on time, we have the Taijutsu field this afternoon." Naruto sprung from his seat and ran from the room. The speed he moved would have made the Fourth Hokage jealous.

Hinata froze, as a sad look rested on her face as she looked at the door. Naruto avoided her all morning, and honestly, she had no clue as to why. Maybe he was not feeling well and wanted to keep Hinata from getting sick as well. That thought brought a smile to Hinata's face as she planned on what medicine she could make to help Naruto.

Naruto loved how Teuchi, and his daughter Ayame, handmade their noodles. Teuchi said years ago that he had made them that way since the 'restaurant's founding. It added the feeling that they wanted you to feel at home while eating. Naruto had no experience with the atmosphere, but it resembled what he imagined as a young child.

"Here's your first bowl," Teuchi said. The man placed a bowl of miso ramen in front of his frequent customer.

"Thanks for the food!"

Naruto's favourite place to train was near the corner where two fences met; it had always been somewhat secluded. He preferred to train alone unless he needed help, or was getting taught. Since he was a young age, Naruto knew the villagers would rather ignore him than help him. Though, they did help when it was beneficial to them, like when Naruto bought food. It had always made the villagers greedy in the redhead's eyes.

Naruto punched with his right fist before quickly leaning on his left foot, and spun around with his right leg extended. Just after it had landed, the boy backflipped before he jumped away. Dust filled the air as a leg swept over it, which followed a fist as it performed an uppercut. As he continued practising his improved fighting style, Naruto grinned. The moves felt right and had flowed together quite nicely.

As Naruto continued to train, he added or improved some moves to the attacks he had just done. It did not go so well, considering he was training without a partner to test everything out on. Naruto was fine alone, but now he wished that he made friends with one of his male classmates. He was not willing, or particularly fond of the idea to ask Hinata to be what was essentially a punching bag.

Before classes began the following day, Naruto had not expected to see Hinata waiting at the Academy's entrance/exit gate. He bit the inside of his cheek, fretting about how avoiding her just reached its first hiccup. It was too late to turn tail, or even pretend he was someone else; Hinata had already noticed him.

"Hey, Hinata!" Hinata smiled before she looked at her feet and pulled out a small jar with a murky looking liquid. She had turned a light shade of red before extending the object towards Naruto.

"I thought you seemed unwell yesterday," Hinata said, "So, I made this medicine for you." Naruto hesitated before he took the jar. On the label hanging around the neck was neat handwriting, it read: Drink before bed, and you should feel better in the morning.

"Thanks Hinata, but... that wasn't the only reason." Naruto wanted to admit he was not sick or feeling unwell because he knew Hinata put a lot of work into the medicine. However, he felt like the truth had to come out before it never did.

The air felt heavy as Naruo remained silent, and Hinata waited for what he wanted to say. Nobody could tell one of their only friends to stay away from them unless something life-threatening could happen. It had hurt to avoid Hinata, but it was to keep her safe. That is what he previously thought anyway, but at that moment, it felt even worse than yesterday.

Nothing in the world seemed right, though, including biases. The adults had unfairly labelled him several times, but 'monster' stuck like glue. The redhead felt their gazes, even now, like they expected to witness an assault.

Naruto shook his head before he looked into Hinata's eyes. Her gaze was fixed on him, but would occasionally slip to the ground; the intensity felt slightly unnatural. Gravel crunched underfoot as Naruto took a couple of steps back. Hinata's gaze felt unnervingly familiar, almost like it had watched him before. Naruto's heart began to pound in his chest as nervousness set in.

"Hinata, I..." Naruto said, "I'm sorry. I'm sorry about throwing that shuriken at you. It was an accident, I swear. I don't know what got into me. If-" The loud ring of the warning bell interrupted Naruto from his quick-paced blabbering. A sigh of relief had escaped into the air. Naruto felt relieved, little could stop his mouth when it decided to run.

Hinata, in a moment of courage, placed her hand on Naruto's cheek, "It's okay, Naruto." Naruto thanked her before he walked with Hinata into the building.

For an unknown reason, Naruto continued to avoid talking with Hinata for the rest of the day. He could not understand why, though, the apology had already come out. At first, it seemed to be for protection; now, it felt different somehow. A pang struck Naruto's heart every time he ran.

'Even if I understood why, would I be prepared to act,' Naruto thought. He had always heard the ANBU say he was immature when they caught him amid pranks. It did not seem correct at the time, but some deliberation had proved it true; a boy could not do a man's job after all.

Naruto knew that being a ninja matured people faster than usual; they faced things others did not, or even could not. Real threats happened outside of the secured walls of the village. Laws had been in place since the founding of the nations, but the outside world beyond their walls was still lawless; rogues thrived outside of the ninja villages.

Rogues had to be tough to fend off the ninja that was still sent on missions to either capture or kill them. Several things in a ninja's career gave them renown; the most pronounced was the number of kills. Naruto liked the idea of being a hero and gaining respect for defeating rogues. The only reason he had wanted to be Hokage was for recognition, but thinking about it now made him question that logic.

'If I never graduate, I'll never be acknowledged as a person,' Naruto thought.

Tears welled up in his eyes; it had been difficult with nobody's love. Sure the Third may have loved him, but that was not the love he had always been looking for. Naruto curled into a ball as his mind became overrun with pessimistic thoughts. They slowly left him alone after sleep overtook the boy's body.

At the crack of dawn, Naruto ran to his training ground. He planned to make the most of his day and had came prepared. A bag full of food, water, and cooking tools sat in the shade of a tree, watching their owner work himself harder than he had before. It started off at a comfortable pace but gradually grew in difficulty.

Naruto decided to put everything he had into physical training in the morning; that's why he ran a hundred laps around the clearing. The red head's lungs tightened as they worked harder than they ever had, but he pushed through with a burst of determination. The second Naruto stopped, he launched a punch forward. He quickly spun and had landed a kick where a person's abdomen would be.

The boy practiced a variety of kata, some had even been defensive. Blocking was easy enough, but he wanted to have a transition into the offence. Sadly, Naruto did not have anyone to try out his ideas on. It had not stopped him for long, however.

In the afternoon, Naruto decided it was time to continue with his Water Clone training. He had not completed it, but that was about to change. Naruto took off most of his clothes, excluding his boxers, and slowly walked into the river. The boy shivered as the water reached his crotch region, why was the water so cold.

Naruto took a couple of minutes to get used to the water before he closed his eyes. He took deep breaths as he had concentrated on the feeling of his chakra, unintentionally matching it to the rushing water. Naruto clamped his hands together and stuck up his index and middle fingers along with his thumbs to create the tiger seal.

Naruto forced his chakra into the water and began to form it into a clone of himself in his mind. After a few times, it began to feel like second nature to him as if he had done it before. A laugh made Naruto's eyes snap open. Standing in the river before he was roughly a dozen clones.

"Wahoo!" Naruto shouted in glee, "I did it, ya know!" Birds scattered into the sky as if to spread the good news. Shortly after his outburst, Naruto pushed himself harder than that morning. After practising the Water Clone Jutsu, and eating, he fell asleep to get a fresh start in the morning.

Naruto ran laps around the clearing continued until he felt like he could collapse at any moment. Half an hour of rest rejuvenated Naruto enough to mould his taijutsu further, and his Water Clones made it easier to spot and feel which moves or sets were not battle-ready.

Naruto's eyes darted from clone to clone with practiced ease; it had been a few months after all. The graduation exam was tomorrow, and he wanted to get in some last-minute training. There was nothing he was worried about with his training, but the feeling of being watched had never left.

Naruto could not be sure how long the person was watching him, but it had been at least a month. It did not feel like the empty gaze of a Water Clone, but a penetrating one from a living being. The redhead vowed to find them after fighting off the remaining ten Water Clones.

After a signal, three clones dashed forward with a blank, but determined look in their eyes. One decided to take Naruto head-on, while the other two waited on either side of him. The redhead blocked a right hook and returned it with force. Cold water caused his black shirt to cling to his body as a slightly shaky breath had escaped.

As if breaking out of their trance, the other two clones rushed forward. A shuriken glinted as orange sunlight hit it; water splashed into the surroundings. A kick sent Naruto to the ground, who used the momentum to kick a clone's feet out from under him. Pants soaked up the water as a kick was delivered to dispel a clone. Three down, seven more to go.

Just after Naruto signalled for more clones to approach, a scream halted them. All of the clones were dispelled as Naruto ran towards the scream. After a minute of running, he saw Hinata, who was surrounded by three teens that appeared to be Genin.

"Hey! What are you doing?" Naruto asked. He was not impressed that his training was cut short for this. One teen scoffed in annoyance before his lips curled into a cocky smirk.

"It appears you have a stalker, Tomato." Naruto's eye twitched, that was not the first time he heard the insult, but it was considerably more annoying this time.

"At least people like tomatoes, moss for brains." The green-haired teen glared at Naruto and had a look as if he was about to start a fight. The tallest boy grabbed the moss-head's arm and shook his head.

"You won't be so lucky next time, Cherry Boy," He spat before following his team. After Naruto was sure they were out of hearing distance, he turned to Hinata.

"Hinata," Naruto said in a serious tone, "Were you watching me?" The Hyuga blushed as she looked down.

"Yes." Naruto grabbed Hinata's chin and made her look him in the eyes. Stern, but gentle blue eyes stared into white ones.

"I don't want you hurt because of me! I wouldn't be able to handle it, because… I care about you too much to let that happen!" Hinata's eyes teared up at his words, whether it was of sadness, happiness, or a mix of the two was uncertain.

"Hinata… You can come to watch me anytime… ifyouwantto." Hinata's cheeks began to rival Naruto's hair in colour as she nodded speechlessly.

"Great! Just let me know next time, okay!" Naruto chirped. The infectious enthusiasm never ceased to cause similar feelings to stir inside of Hinata.

"See you tomorrow, Hinata!" Naruto said. With that, he ran back into his training area to grab the stuff he left behind. Hinata stood in place for a moment as she waited for the blush to disappear. If she were lucky, Naruto would be assigned to a team with her. Butterflies danced in Hinata's stomach as she slowly walked home with a smile on her face.


	7. Chapter 7

Naruto drew in a few breaths as he stood before the door to the examination room. He was guaranteed to pass this time, of course, but still felt nervous. Despite that, he flung open the door to prove his doubts wrong.

"Glad you could make it Naruto, please come in so we can start," Iruka said. A table full of headbands with a piece of metal was in front of him. The symbol of Konoha had been etched into the metal, and with it held the status of a Ninja of Konohagakure.

"As you know, this test is on the Clone Jutsu." It had been unnecessary for Iruka to reiterate that fact, but Naruto was none the less grateful he brought it up.

"Sensei, can I use a different type of Clone Jutsu?" Iruka appeared to ponder the question with the slight trace of a smile on his face. He knew Naruto could not perform the standard and seemed to be glad the boy had asked.

"As long as you don't cause damage," Iruka said. Naruto had felt his heart soar as a huge grin broke out on his face. He opened his canteen before the tiger seal was performed. Water was pulled out of the container, and formed into three balls that became clones. Iruka's jaw had dropped open slightly before he scribbled onto his clipboard.

"Congratulations Naruto, come and take a headband." Naruto had let out a whoop in excitement, this had to be the best moment in his life so far. Naruto approached the table and tied a black headband around his forehead.

Naruto left the room with a skip in his step. He finally felt that he had both freedom, and the responsibility to protect those who needed help. Naruto knew it could not be an easy journey from that point, as he considered the stories he heard of comrades deaths; it unsettled him to think that could happen to his future team.

'No matter what happens,' Naruto thought, 'I'll follow my instincts.'

Naruto saw three seats open at the team placements the next day; one was beside Sasuke, the second was by Hinata, and the last was next to Shikamaru. It had been a no-brainer which seat he would take. Naruto knew Ino and Sakura would fight to be beside Sasuke and would hurt anyone in their way.

It was Survival 101, in Naruto's opinion. The Fan Girls of Misfortune, as he called them, had caused pain to those near Sasuke. Whether it was intentional or not was undecided in Naruto's mind; though he had tended to believe the former.

"Morning, Hinata!"

"Good Morning," Hinata greeted. Naruto was happy that she did not stutter much around him anymore. It had been a significant improvement, considering how she was nearly a year ago.

The front door to the classroom had slammed open before Sakura and Ino took its place. They shoved each other into the door frame like sumo wrestlers. Their prize had been obvious, the seat beside Sasuke.

"What makes Sasuke so… popular?" Naruto whispered. He felt his heart squeeze in pain, he never had anybody fight for a spot beside him.

"From what I can tell," Hinata said, "He has a mysterious, and cool attitude that some people tend to like. Though there are people who like the opposite." Naruto glared at the back of Sasuke's head. Why he had continued to style his hair like a bird's ass was odd. Naruto let out a snort as a thought came to him.

"Hinata," Naruto said, "Do you think Sasuke's hair looks like a bird's ass because he is one?" Half of the class had laughed while Sasuke and his posse of fangirls glared at Naruto. Naruto smirked like he had issued a challenge to Sasuke.

"I know it is exciting to be ninja, but please leave it for your senseis," Iruka said. The class had jumped before they all sat neatly in their seats. Sakura had booked it to the desk Sasuke sat at, and sat down. Ino huffed as she made her way to the last seat that remained.

Naruto halfheartedly listened as the man listed off names. He had only been interested in who was on a team with him. He had hoped for anyone besides Sasuke, hell even Kiba was slightly more tolerable than him.

"Team 7 led by Kakashi Hatake will be Sasuke Uchiha, Sakura Haruno, and Kiba Inuzuka." Naruto had sighed in relief, glad that the two classmates he could not stand were paired together. He had barely time to relish the feeling as Iruka continued with the teams that remained unannounced.

"Team 8 led by Kurenai Yuhi will be Shino Aburame, Hinata Hyuga, and Naruto Uzumaki." A grin had threatened to split Naruto's face at the announcement. Suddenly, a wave of relief hit as he had realized what would have happened if his grades did not increase.

A few minutes had passed since Iruka left the classroom after the team announcements. The room had been buzzing with noise before a few Jonin had entered the room. One of them was a woman with black hair and no vest. Naruto doubted she had been a Jonin long since she did not wear the vest.

"I'm Kurenai Yuhi, Team 8 please follow me to our meeting place." Naruto grinned as he hopped out of his seat. He skipped some stairs on his descent, while Shino and Hinata took their time. Kurenai had almost rolled her eyes at the sight. This was her first time taking a full team of students and was unsure if she could handle them. Though, Kurenai had decided to wait until she got to know them to pass judgment.

Team 8 had taken seats outside of a tea house near the residential area of the village. Kurenai watched as Naruto continued to talk with Hinata. He tried to get Shino into the conversation, but he did not say much to add to it.

"Let's start with the introductions," Kurenai said.

"Introductions? We already know about each other," Naruto said. Kurenai smiled before she had shaken her head.

"That's true, but I don't. So, I'll start to give you an idea of what I'd like to know."

"My name is Kurenai Yuhi. I've only recently become a Jonin. I like to read and drink in the evenings. My favourite foods are certain alcohols and takowasa(octopus and wasabi), and I dislike cake." Naruto had stared at Kurenai in disbelief.

"You're a drunk, aren'tcha! And who doesn't like cake!" Naruto shouted. Kurenai had sent Naruto a death glare. He stiffened before he decided not to further press the issue.

"Right, I'll go next! I'm Naruto Uzumaki! I like training, ramen, and my friends; especially Hinata! I don't like bullies and tomatoes." Kurenai had let a chuckle escape, as she had a good guess as to why he did not like tomatoes.

Hinata slightly stuttered as she said, "I'll go next. My name is Hinata Hyuga, I like pressing flowers, kind people, and cinnamon buns. I dislike shellfish..." Shino had assumed that was all Hinata was going to say, so he cleared his throat.

"I'm Shino Aburame. I like studying insects and add them to my collection. I dislike strong-smelling food." Kurenai had remained silent as she was lost in thought for a moment. She wanted to make sure to phrase what she was going to say just right.

As Naruto had walked to the training ground Kurenai specified, he thought about the previous day. He began to make a plan for the true exam, which Kurenai said would be about tracking. That was what she had wanted them to think, but Naruto suspected there was another reason.

As Naruto arrived at the training ground, he had noticed that Shino and Hinata were already there. It was not odd, both were exceptional at being early. A smile had tugged on Naruto's lips as he approached his friends.

"Morning!" Naruto chirped. It had never been too early for Naruto to start the day off positively.

Sleepily Hinata said, "Good Morning." While Shino had barely whispered his response. Naruto happily jumped onto one of the logs in the area. He had sat down to avoid the dew on the grass, while he waited for Kurenai. It was doubtful she would be late, but Naruto was not sure if this test needed him to stretch or not.

Moments later, Kurenai entered the clearing. A smile had rested on her face as she approached. The team had greeted their sensei before she began her instructions.

"As you know, the three of you will be taking a tracking exam," Kurenai said, "The three of you will need to find, and either hit or detain me. The time limit will be around dusk; if you fail by to do that, we will have to see when or if that happens."

"The test will begin... Now!" Kurenai said. She then poofed into smoke, which left the genin by themselves.

Naruto had led his teammates through the forest, as they used their abilities to locate Kurenai. Both Shino and Hinata had agreed with Naruto's plan, considering their abilities were more tracking oriented than fighting.

The plan had been simple: Shino and Hinata would locate Kurenai, and while Naruto was distracting her with a fight they would try to tie her up with the rope Naruto had carried in his newly dubbed equipment scroll.

"Naruto, she is using genjutsu to blend in with a tree a few meters ahead," Hinata said.

"That's good to know," Naruto said, "But, Genjutsu isn't something I am good with." The three had remained still for a minute.

"That's fine, I'll just use my bugs to have her release it."

"That'd be great!"

Naruto watched the tree Hinata had pointed out, noticing nothing out of the ordinary until Kurenai dispelled her own Genjutsu.

"I'm surprised you managed to find me so quickly," Kurenai said, "But will you be able to do more than that?" Without responding, Naruto had run toward Kurenai as she jumped from the tree.

"Morning!" Naruto greeted. Hinata and Shino had responded but stayed silent beyond that. Naruto sighed, not sure he even wanted to try to start up a conversation. He stood silently as he had finally zipped up his orange jacket. If Naruto had guessed correctly, Kurenai would be there soon.

"If it isn't Naruto, I'm surprised you stayed a ninja." Naruto turned in the direction of the voice to see Team 7. The redhead internally groaned before he decided to answer. 

"Could say the same to you," Naruto shot back. Hinata had placed herself between the two boys. She  
did not want a fight to break out.

"How have you been, K-Kiba? And Akamaru of course." Kiba's face had grown a cocky grin as he petted Akamaru.

"We've been great," Kiba said, "You doing good?"

"I am fine, thanks for asking," Hinata said a little awkwardly.

"Now, Now," Kakashi said tiredly, "Our client is waiting, you know."

"I'm sorry for wasting your time," Naruto said as he bowed. It seemed like it was his fault; although, Kiba had started the conversation. Kakashi had simply waved him off before Team 7 left.

"I hate that damn cat!" Naruto complained, "Why did we have to catch it three times in a row?" Hinata had voiced her agreement as she walked beside Kurenai.

"It ran from the Daimyo's wife before she even left the room," Shino responded in a dead voice. Naruto sighed like he had been in pain.

'That cat has to be a demon!' Naruto thought. Kurenai had placed herself in between her Genin and the door to Mission Reception.

"I'll report this one, so you three can go get some rest. We will meet here at 8 tomorrow." Kurenai gave them a kind smile before she had entered the room behind her.

"Alright guys, see you tomorrow!" Naruto said as he headed for the gate at the Academy's entrance.

The Demon Cat: Tora had been the animal's official title to Team 8. It had been a near-constant plague in their lives for two weeks. Between catching Tora, they had an occasional babysitting or repair mission. Most of the time they had to accept the Tora mission immediately after bringing it back. A lot of older genin were overjoyed at not having to catch Tora, but it came at the expense of Team 8's stress levels and sanity.

"Gramps, please!" Naruto pleaded as his eyes got teary, "We need a different mission! I think I'll kill that cat if we have to catch it one more time." The redhead soon dropped to his knees as tears spilled down his cheeks. Hinata had released a shaky sigh, and Shino had stood with a slight slouch.

The Hokage had let out a puff of smoke before he said, "After 20 missions, fifteen of which had to deal with Tora, you three do deserve a break. How about a C-Rank? It will let you leave the village for a while." Naruto immediately perked up and was in front of the Hokage in seconds.

"We'll take it!" Naruto said. He did not even need to ask, considering they were all sick of being called to catch The Demon Cat.

The C-Rank had been a simple protection mission with the possibility of a bandit attack. Bandits increased their activity around Cherry Blossom Town recently, attacking their hunters. Eventually, everyone became too scared to leave the town; until the client had risked his life to get to Konoha to request help.

"I'll do anything to help them!" Naruto said with a grin. He had suddenly gotten a chill after saying that, almost like something bad was going to happen.

"That is good to hear," the Hokage said, "Now please go pack your bags, I will tell the client to meet you at the main gate in an hour." Naruto had run out of the room happily, leaving his team in the dust.

"You must be Yuu. I'm Kurenai Yuhi; I'll be leading this mission."

"Thank you," the man said in a slightly feminine voice.

"Could you tell us more about the bandits as we head for your town." Yuu nodded as he motioned for them to leave.

"The bandits have attacked our hunters a few times," Yuu admitted, "The fear stems from there, as well as rumours that seem to be circulating about various other things they will or have done."

"Are there any ninja among them? Or any that know jutsu?" Kurenai asked.

"I honestly don't know, nobody has reported such," Yuu said. Kurenai appeared to think the answer over. After a minute, the conversation picked up again.

"Have they attacked the main road for supplies?"

"They haven't, and I'd know," Yuu said, "That's how I got to your village."

"Is attacking the main road normal for bandits?" Naruto asked.

"They do, but that is usually only if there are rogue ninjas among them."

"Is that why you asked if the bandits had a ninja in their ranks?" Naruto asked.

"Yes, and because I have an odd feeling about this mission," Kurenai admitted.

"Why did we take this mission then?" Shino asked.

"It would have looked bad for the village if we had denied a mission we requested," Kurenai said.

"But, we did not request this one exactly," Hinata said quietly. She had not wanted to cut in but felt like she needed to say her piece.

"Getting this mission was a matter of timing," Kurenai said. The timing was always something a ninja had to consider, even when getting a mission.

'What mission would we have gotten if we had arrived later,' Naruto thought as they passed an old man drinking from an alcohol bottle.


	8. Chapter 8

As Team 8 approached Cherry Blossom Town, a single row of cherry blossom trees had come into view. They looked intentionally placed, but Naruto would have been amazed if they naturally grew like that. A sudden gust of wind had blown a petal onto his nose. Naruto quickly blew it off as Yuu had begun to speak.

"I have things I need to do, but first, I'll lead you to the place you will be staying. It was an inn before it had to be shut down a couple months ago."

"If you don't mind my asking," Shino said, "Why was it shut down?" Yuu's face had grown sad for a moment as if the place held nostalgia for him.

With defeat laced in his voice, Yuu said, "Nobody stays here anymore, kid. Hell, your team are the first visitors in a while." Unbeknownst to the Genin, Kurenai's brow had furrowed at the comment.

The group walked in silence as Yuu had led them through town. Residents stopped and stared, some kept their eyes on them longer than others. Naruto knew they held little to no trust for outsiders, but he hoped that would not last long.

"Are you here to protect me and my mommy?" A boy asked as he tugged on Naruto's pants. A smile broke out on his face as he looked down at the boy.

"Of course! You will be safe with my team here!" Naruto had once again felt a tug on his clothing, this time it was his jacket. Hinata stood by his side and looked rather nervous. He knew why Hinata was shy and strangers had made her nervous.

"Go back to your mom, okay? I need to talk to my friend, okay?"

"Okay, mister!" Naruto watched the boy run back to a woman before they walked off. He then turned to Hinata and had given her an expectant look. Her eyes darted around for a moment before landing on Naruto's.

"Why did you promise that?" Hinata asked, "I am not even sure if we can fix the problem." Naruto had let loose a grin, on that threatened to split his face in two. Hinata's nerves lessened slightly but still waited for his explanation.

"From what Yuu has told us, the town hasn't been attacked. So, they should be alright as long as they don't leave." Hinata had let a look of shook overtake her face like she had not thought of that. The group remained silent after that until they arrived at the Inn minutes later.

The Inn was on the edge of town near the blossoming trees. The building looked well maintained like the citizens had remained hopeful. A coat of navy blue paint accented the wood features, like the two large columns of the portico which were carved to look like dragons.

"Whoa!" Naruto exclaimed, "These look so awesome!" He ran over to the columns to get a better look at them. Yuu led the two other Genin inside as Kurenai shook her head.

"Come along, Naruto. The others are inside already." The lobby had been nothing special, but the high quality mismatched furniture livened up the room; even if they were covered in a layer of dust. Naruto looked excitedly around the room as he walked with his team towards the stairs.

"You may use these two rooms," Yuu said. He gestured to the two rooms at the top of the stairs. "Now if you will excuse me." Kurenai had left with Yuu, she told the Genin she was going for information before they began their patrols. Although, she was not gone longer than ten minutes.

"That was quick, sensei!" Naruto noted after he had looked at the clock above the reception desk. Kurenai took a seat beside Hinata as she sighed.

"The information was mostly the same from everybody," Kurenai said, "Apparently, a group of bandits have always been in the area, but they picked up activity a few months ago. Roughly a month ago, the bandits began to attack hunters."

"What were they doing before then?" Shino asked.

"Originally, they occasionally stole from people in town, or passing by." The discussion had continued for a few hours as they decided on the best course of action. They would split into two groups to either accompany the hunters or patrol the town.

The days had passed by very slowly, much to Naruto's dismay. Nothing happened, besides the Genin learning Tree Walking. Kurenai had instructed Naruto and Shino to patrol the town every hour. That gave them a chance to train while they did their job. The patrols had not cut that much time out of their personal time, which made it easy for Naruto to catch up to his teammates in Tree Walking.

"Tonight is our last night here," Kurenai said, "We do not have time to waste here anymore. So, be back at dawn."

"Will do, sensei!" Naruto and Shino left after that and split up as usual. Naruto had only walked along the treeline for a few minutes before he heard some hushed talking.

"Hurry up! We have to get this stuff back to camp before the boss has our heads!" Naruto heard a scoff before flesh had hit flesh.

"You're being too loud, just help me pick these up." Naruto peeked around the corner and saw the two black-clad men enter the nearby forest. He had wanted to listen to the voice telling him to go wake up Kurenai but decided against it. No matter what anybody said, a little surveillance was not something a group of people could accomplish together.

Dawn of day seven had arrived, but Naruto was stuck in a net outside of Cherry Blossom Town. He watched as a woman commanded the bandits. She had not talked to him since he was caught last night and brought to their camp. Naruto never heard all of what she said, but it seemed like they were going to attack... somewhere.

"Let me out of here! I'm not going anywhere with you!" Naruto yelled. The woman let out an eerie laugh as her captive struggled like a fish in a net. Her eyes looked Naruto up and down as they shot Killing Intent into him. He froze in place and noticed a thin smile on her face.

"You really should save your energy, Naruto." Naruto's eyes widened in surprise as his pulse had quickened.

"How do you know my name?" Naruto glared at the woman who had chuckled again. Her eyes pierced him as she thought over her words.

"I guess you would not recognize me, since I did a lot to alter my appearance to not be caught. You will have to trust my word though." Naruto's heart quickened as he had waited for the woman to continue speaking.

"I know your name because I am Yuu." Naruto's blood froze at that moment, how had they been tricked. No, it was probably only him that was tricked. He did not have an ability like his teammates or have the experience of his sensei. Yuu had noticed the way Naruto's face scrunched.

"Why would bandits ask for help from Konoha?"

"You wanted to know why?" Yuu asked with a hint of anger in her voice. Naruto gulped but nodded.

"I want revenge on Konoha for my family that was killed by its ninja!" Yuu had spat the words out like venom, and her face screamed rage, "There was no reason for all of them to be killed. My father was the only one who had been from the Cloud!" The words sunk into Naruto like a stone as he had realized what Yuu wanted to do.

"I was used as a kunai afterwards. The Konoha ninja used me and other children as shields to prevent their enemies from attacking them. Afterwards, I was disposed of like garbage; that's what I plan to do with you." Naruto had remained silent, he knew there might not be anything he could do to convince her to spot her plan now.

Yuu had quickly returned to telling the bandits what they needed to do. A solemn expression made its home on Naruto's face as he heard the woman yell for the bandits to hurry up. He hoped his team was going to come for him.

'Hinata... Shino... Sensei, where are you?' Naruto remained silent as a bug landed on him, and crawled into his jacket. The birds entertained him before Yuu had begun to walk towards him once again.

"You should feel lucky that I am sparing your life," Yuu said. Naruto gave her a confused look, as she stopped in front of the net.

"What do you mean? I don't feel lucky." Yuu had smirked before she cut the net down with a dagger before she tied Naruto's wrists together. She led him out of the clearing as bandits surrounded them.

"What I meant to say is you're lucky because you still have your whole life ahead of you. Which I hope will lead you out of that cursed village." Naruto had bit his tongue before he spoke without thinking. He thought about what Yuu said, and after half an hour realized Yuu was correct.

The Kyuubi had attacked over twelve years ago, which lead to the Fourth Hokage to die. A few clan incidents happened, which lead to several deaths; the most memorable was Itachi killing 99% of the Uchiha Clan. Suddenly, half of the bandits fell to the ground unconscious. Naruto got a flash of light from his left.

Yuu must have noticed as well since she had pulled Naruto in the opposite direction; that was not without either of them getting a cut on this left arms. He tried his best to keep up, but he could not pull himself over a fallen tree. Yuu angrily sighed before she cut the restraints in the middle. That allowed Naruto to move his hands but still allowed her to pull him along.

Yuu had thrown Naruto to the ground as soon as they reached a clearing in the forest. She suddenly whipped her arm towards him. Naruto concentrated chakra to his feet and pushed himself backwards.

"What the hell?!" Naruto said, "That could have killed me!" Yuu ignored him and threw another kunai, which Naruto used to cut his hands free.

Naruto stood to his feet quickly before he dodged another kunai. He had jumped back to create some distance between the two of them. Before it had exploded, Naruto saw a paper bomb attached to a kunai to his left. The explosion had burnt his arm, but he was not able to relax or take care of the injury.

A continuous stream of kunai had kept Naruto on his feet, like a mouse being toyed by a cat. He hid behind a tree for a quick breather, but he soon heard Yuu walking towards him. This had to be it, that moment to prove himself.

'**It's time to show the world that you are no joke!**' a booming voice said. Fire sprinted through Naruto's chakra coils and burned his nose and eyes. The world seemed to slow down as his nails and teeth grew longer, as his whiskers became more noticeable. His eyes became red and his pupils became slits as his hair took on a feral appearance.

Naruto had taken in a deep breath through his nose. He could smell the nature around him, along with Yuu and his team. He spun on his foot before he ran at Yuu at max velocity, which his opponent could not keep up with if it was not for the red cloak around him. Naruto spiralled around her to get closer, but also so she could not move.

Naruto had thrown a punch at Yuu with the force of a bullet behind it. She flew backwards after the punch connected with her gut. Naruto had gone to turn away, but the cloak seemed to have a mind of its own. It forced him to run towards Yuu once more.

'**You are not done here, child! Or did you want to die? Go, finish this!**' Naruto felt as his body bend down to pick up a kunai. As he reached Yuu, he blocked a stab from a dagger.

"It seems that you are more important to Konoha than I thought," Yuu said. Naruto had glared at her, as he thought about her words.

"I'm... not," Naruto spoke in a dull voice. Yuu let loose a laugh from her gut as if the situation was amusing to her.

"I've seen others like you, Naruto. The people in those villages called them Jinjuriki, which means you are a secret human weapon; which makes you important to them." Naruto had felt tears well up in his eyes as the red chakra began to bubble around him as it formed two ears and a tail.

"I am not a tool!" His tail swung back as Naruto had picked Yuu up by the throat. In a matter of seconds, she was thrown back into a tree. With his mind in a haze, Naruto picked up the dagger as the cloak grew unstable.

"You're stupid... if you thought fighting Konoha untrained was a good idea," Naruto said slowly, "You'd have a better chance with an enemy nation fighting with you." Yuu halfheartedly chuckled at the comment, as if she had accepted her mistake. She stood to her feet shakily, her body ached and complained from every location Naruto had struck.

"I might have to use that idea... in my next life." Yuu had given Naruto a dejected smile as Naruto's heart felt like it momentarily stopped. Ice ran through his veins as Yuu walked towards him.

"Wha... You don't... You aren't gonna die, yahknow." Naruto unconsciously took a step back as Yuu wobbled slightly before him. She began to fall forward with a smile on her face. It all had happened in slow-mo for Naruto as he ran to catch Yuu.

One moment it seemed Yuu was going into fall into his arms, but the next moment he would remember forever as the single worst moment of his life to that date. She had grabbed his arm that held her dagger as if to steady herself. In the next moment, Yuu moved his arm, which caused the dagger to go through her heart as she pulled herself into Naruto's arms.

Naruto had watched Yuu fall in a state of shock, he felt like it was a dream or some horrible Genjutsu that had been cast on him. Blood pooled around her body as the feeling of a snake constricting his stomach removed Naruto from his shock slightly. He turned just enough to not puke on Yuu, as he did not want to disrespect her. Acid had burnt his throat before he sat on the ground and began to gently rock.

'What have I done?' Naruto thought before a sob had shaken his body, 'A person is laying over there dead!' At this point, tears soaked into the boy's bloodied pants. It seemed like ninjas were not as glamorous as Naruto had once thought.

As if sensing the gloom, the clouds had begun to cry with him. The chilly rain only added to Naruto's problems as time slowly passed. Kurenai arrived on the scene as a shaky sob escaped his lips.

'Oh Naruto,' Kurenai thought, 'I should have made it here earlier.' A pang of guilt had stabbed her in the heart as she watched Naruto continued to sob.


End file.
